Gas-lighting apparatus.



G. B. COLLIER. GAS LIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1914.

1,133,265. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. B. COLLIER.

GAS LIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7,1914.

1,1 33,265. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 G. B. COLLIER.

GAS LIGHTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7.1914.

1,133,265. Patented Mar. 30, 1915.

3 SHBET8SHEET 3.

lglfizea'seb' W r Mil.

2Q. WTFM A QLI BZE GA ZEM jrus;

Application filed May 7, 1914. Serial 110,836,884.

To all whom it may concern it known that I, GUY B. COLLIER, a

7 Citizen of the United States, residing at Kinderhook, in the county of Columbia and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Lighting Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to gas lighting apparatus and more particularly apparatus of this type which automatically lights and extinguishes the gas light or the main gas burner at predetermined intervals. The object of the present invention is to provide a gas lighting apparatus which is simple in construction and certain in its op eration, and which will operate for a long period with substantially no care upon the part of the operator, or replacement of parts; i

With this object in view the various features of'the invention consist in certain novel features of construction, combinations, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

comparatively small forceupon the arrangements of parts hereinafter described and claimed, the advantages of which will beiobvious to those skilled in the art from the following description. In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred form of the invention; Figure 1 represents a front elevation of the timing and valve operating mechanism removed from the lamp; Fig. 2 shows a side elevation partly in section attached to the lamp and illustrating the relation of the v timing mechanism relative to the lamp; Fig. "'3 is a detail illustrating the burner and botto ii'i plate for the lamp and the valve for controlling the main supply of gas to the burner; and Fig. 4 is a detail showing upon an enlarged scale the construction and ,fniounting for the gas valve. 55301115 g l I hi 'peot" gas-light WlllCll itylSjdSLlGfliitO and extinguishautomatically with-out n'vention is shown in connection witha lamp jipresnti inwent-ion is zlvappliciiblfisto the-seat, the plate 24 1s uirin g the manual iatten tion of. an operao'iijbu't the -"ill1'i'stra-ted embodiment ofithe 'plriyedfi forstreet lighting. I This-lan 1p is f-tljemsual form, havingza pOsteapundr; me; at '1;-a bottom-plate12, a riser 3 and,

' zvanehousing 6 detaehablysecuredina Y 5 suitable 'manner to the top of the riser and carrying a burner 4 upon its upper end.

' vent leakage of gas thereintowhen -t he main at 24. From an inspection of}? i in position relative theret .tween, the plate and flan ,clearly in v Figs. 3 and closed presses firmly against'th Patented Mai";

is provided with a lateralljprojiectingchblzlow arm 5 below the bottom; platerawhich supports the timing and valve operating mechanisms inclosed in a: casing-7.; lmthis type of apparatus it is customary teammatain a permanent pilot light indicated? iii-:10 which is fed through a fhranchipipe gllaih constant communication withathemain passage 12 formed in the inteI-iOr-iQiiathQ lamp post. The main burneni-sz-control led through a valve 15 interiaosedb6tweenthe passage 12 and a passageAlishownclflagly 79 in Fig. 3 of the drawings passingf @up" through a. standard 18 sefitedgtothed2 p-f the valve housing 6.

It is desirable that the ma n pljIIlQKaQflS' sage shall be tightly closed ;in .order; topre L light is extinguished, andthatjth is ure may be effected with theapplieatio Furthermore, as the gas cgrries more water which is condensedv incold; provision must be made g' f oipcollec i removing this water in ordentq plii freezing and consequent injury totlie ap iiratu's. To this end the inainvalve is veniently mounted on a valvestem 2 which is secured an arm 2Lhav' t flange 22 which carries the valv it will he no'ted that theptlgiig-QQZ oflset the valve bey ond the end 20, thus preventing the vw ate, tion from dripping dow stem. The valve 24 cons s faced with leather or other yr 26 and having a headed stilt! loosely through the flange M low for a partial swiveling im yaeen wmto eq elit ea'im which the stud27 passesiloq of themain burner passage in-gassistd by, thepressfure 0 gas valve chambe r. The'main' burner; sage 17 communicates with the valve through a valve seat 30 having a conical branch p asdensation will flow into the lower portion 31 of the main passage. Any water which collects may be conveniently withdrawn from this passage by removing a threaded plug 32, and access may be readily had to the attention of an operator.

the valve seat and to the valve by the removal of the threaded plugs 34 and 35 respectively. The valve seat is threadedly mounted in the valve housing and may be adjusted through the provision of a slot for the reception of a screw driver as shown clearly in Fig. 4. v

In this type of apparatus the opening and closing of the valve is controlled by a suitable type of time mechanism which operates for .a considerable period without requiring This time mechanism is connected with the valve in such a manner that at predetermined intervals the valve will be suddenly or abruptly opened and closed and will remain in either position until again actuated by. the time mechanism to close the gas passage, or vice versa. The valve operating mechanism proper is so constructed and arranged that the valve is suddenly closed and opened and held firmly in either position for the required time interval and moved from one position to the other with a comparatively small expenditure of power by the time mechanism. The time mechanism" consists of a suitable clock train indicated generally at 40 and secured, as shown clearly in Fig. 1, in the casing 7. Any conunercial type of clock mechanism suitablefor the purpose may be employed with the addition of an idler and is utilized to continuously rotate in one direction a gear 4-2 which makes one complete rotation each twenty-four hours. This gear is operatively connected with an arm 44 sleeved upon a shaft l5 supported by the back plate 46.. The arm 4% is provided uponits upper end with a weight 47 in order to retain it in one of two oppositely inclined positions. The arm H is connected with the valve through a valve actuating member comprising an arm 49 secured to a sleeve 50 loosely mounted upon a stud shaft 51 secured to the casing 7. The arm 49 is operatively connected with the valve stem 20 through a pair of arms 52 and 53 secured re:

spectively to the sleeve 50 and the inner end of the valve stem 20. The upper end of the arm 52 is bifurcated and provided with a transverse pin 54 which engages in a slot 56 forked in the lower end of the arm 53. In order to prevent the escape of gas from the valve chamber the valve stem 20 is provided with comparatively long bearings 56 witha stufiing box between them, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The operative connection between the arm 44 and the valve actuating member is provided by a bell crank secured to the sleeve 50 and having oppositely extending arms 60 and 61 provided respectively with studs 62 and 63 arranged to be engaged by the arm 44 at predetermined intervals. \Vith this construction the arm 44 is normally supported in an inclined position, as shown in Fig. 1, and at a predetermined time is oscillated by the gear 42 raising the arm and weight slowly until the arm assumes a vertical position. Immediately after the arm assumes this po sition the weight 47 through the action of gravity tends to continue the movement and the arm drops, engaging with the pin 62, abruptly oscillating the bell crank and arm 49, and through the connecting mechanism the gas valve. It will thus be seen that although the initial movement of the arm takes place slowly in synchronism with the slow rotation of the gear 42, the portion of the movement utilized for the operation of the valve is only that which occurs under the action of gravity after the arm has passed vertical position. Itwill be noted that with this construction the weight 47 tends to retain the valve in its closed or open position during the major portion of the time, but for a short period while the weight is being raised from an inclined to a vertical position it is removed from operative engagement with both the pins 62 and 63. In order to retain the valve in either one of the two operative positions during this time, the arm 49 is provided with a. weight sutliciently heavy to maintain the valve closed or open, but lighter than the weight 47 in order that the valve actuating member may be conveniently operated by the weight 47 to open or close the valve. It will be noted that the arm 49 when the valve is either opened or closed is supported in aninclined position, thus causing the weight to con-v stant-ly act under the force of gravity to retain the arm in this position. In order to determine the limit of movement of the valve and actuating arm when the valve is opened, a pin is supported in the valve. chamber and contacts with the arm 15 when the valve is open. In order that the arm 44 shall be alternately oscillated in opposite directions a bell crank having oppositely extending arms 77 and 78 is secured to the sleeve with the arm ll. The arm 77'is engaged by a dog 80 secured to the'gear wheel when the valve is to be opened, and the arm 78 is engaged by a dog 81 when the valve is to be closed. It will be noted that the engagement'of these arms rocks the bell crank in opposite directions during a continuous rotation of the gear in a single direction. In order that this action may take place and to insure the engagement of the dog 81 with the arm 78 the dog 81, as shown clearly in ,with relation to the gear 42.

Fig. 2, is bent outwardly and upwardly and is provided with a depending flange 83 which engages with a. pin 84 secured in the arm 78.

The time at which the valveis'opened and closed may be varied as desired to correspondingly vary the predetermined time interval during which the light burns by adjusting the dogs 80 and 81 circumferentially To this end the dog 80 is mounted on a slide block 85 frictionally retained in a curved slot 86 formed in the gear, and the dog 81 is mounted upon a slide block 87 frictionally retained in a slot 88 formed in the gear. The circumferential position of either of the dogs 80 or 81 with relation to the gear is varied by rotating respectively a pinion 90 or a pinion 92 which meshes with a gear 93 secured to the gear 42. It will be noted that the hubs of these pinions are provided with square ends which enable them to be readily engaged by a key and turned to adjust the position of the dog. To enable the time at which the lighting and extinguishing of the lamp takes place to be readily determined by the operator edges of the slot are graduated and provided with characters corresponding to the hour of the day or night at which the valve mechanism is operated.

It will be observed from an inspection of Fig. 1 that the arcuate slot in which the dog 81 for extinguishing the light is supported extends through an arc of approximately one hundred eighty degrees, thus enabling the times at which the light is extinguished to be varied through a period of approximately twelve hours. This is a highly desirable feature as it may be desirable to keep the light burning throughout the entire night, or only during a portion of the early evening hours, this considerable variation being dependent upon whether the lamp is employed in store lighting where it may be desirable to extinguish it during the early evening, or in street lighting where it is desired to burn substantially all night.

\Vhile it is preferred to employ the spe cific construction and arrangement of parts shown and described, it will be understood that this construction and arrangement is not essential except so far as specified in the claims, and may be chan ed or modified without departing from t e broader features of the invention.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is 1. A gas lighting apparatus having a main gas passage, a plate valve closing the open end of the passage, an oscillatory valve shaft, a weighted rocker arm connected with the valve shaft, a heavier weighted rocker arm, the two arms rocking about parallel axes spaced out of alinement with one another, and a time mechanism for oscillating the heavier arm in opposite directions at predetermined intervals.

2. A gas lighting apparatus having a valve shaft, a bell crank, a weighted arm connected to the bell crank, a second bell crank interposed between the first mentioned bell crank and the valve shaft, the two bell cranks rocking about parallel axes spaced out of alinement with one another, a lighter weighted arm connected to the second bell crank, connections between the two bell cranks for imparting abrupt move ments to the second bell crank upon a. movement of the first mentioned bell crank in either direction, and time controlled mechanism for oscillating the first mentioned bell crank in opposite directions at predetermined intervals.

3. A gas lighting apparatus having a rock shaft, a bellcrank secured thereto, pins supported in the opposite arms of the bell crank, a weighted arm secured to the rock shaft and normally tending to assume an inclined position, a second bell crank rocking about an axis spaced out of alinement with the axis of the first bell crank, a heavier weighted arm secured to the second bell crank and arranged to contact at predetermined intervals with one of the pins when the bell crank is rocked by the weighted arm moving under the action of gravity, and time controlled mechanism for oscillating the first mentioned bell crank in opposite directions at predetermined intervals.

BURTON W. CARY, M. A. HURLEY. 

